189 frac crews running right now. Rigs up 6 straight weeks. And the well backlog just hit an all-time low. Depends where you are and what you do. But the numbers tell a story either way.
The DUC Count
The US drilled-but-uncompleted well count just dropped to 4,972 — the lowest ever recorded going back to 2013, according to EIA STEO Table 10a data for April 2026.
Here is where the major oil basins stand right now:
- Permian — 540 DUCs (down from 609 in February)
- Eagle Ford — 369 DUCs
- Bakken — 247 DUCs
The Permian alone burned through 69 DUCs since February. That is the basin carrying half of US production.
Why It Matters
A DUC comes online in 6 to 9 weeks. A brand new well takes 3 to 9 months. The industry’s fast-response buffer is basically gone.
When prices spike or the market needs barrels fast, operators do not spud new wells. They call completion crews out to wells already drilled. That is how shale responds overnight. And right now there is almost nothing left to respond with.
Activity on the Ground
At the same time the DUC buffer is gone, crews are running hard:
- Frac spreads — up 21% since January, now at 189 active crews (Primary Vision, week of May 22)
- Oil rigs — 429 active, up 6 straight weeks, highest since July 2025 (Baker Hughes, May 29)
- Diamondback Energy — running 5 completion crews through year end, deliberately drawing down DUC inventory
- Patterson-UTI — completion fleet at near full utilization and raising prices on customers
The Paradox
The ceasefire market crashed oil 16% in May. But the US struck Iranian targets the same week the ceasefire framework was announced. No final deal exists. Hormuz is still not fully open. US crude inventories are down 52 million barrels since the war started.
The market priced in peace. The patch is still running wide open.
Low prices right now are killing the investment signal at the exact moment the industry needs to rebuild its buffer. If the ceasefire collapses and Hormuz closes again, there is no fast lever left to pull. The DUCs are gone. The inventory is gone.
The buffer is empty. The clock is running.
Sources: EIA STEO Table 10a (April 2026), Baker Hughes North America Rig Count (May 29, 2026), Primary Vision Frac Spread Count (week of May 22, 2026), Rystad Energy, Reuters Energy.